Leyte quake victims warned of landslides, told to evacuate

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Office 8 (DENR-8) called on residents near the landslides caused by the Leyte magnitude-6.5 earthquake to evacuate immediately and resettle in another safer area.

DENR-8 Regional Director

Leonardo Sibbaluca said the mountains on Leyte Island are basically volcanic soil. This type of soil is loose or porous and poise a high risk of landslides, he said.

The residents near the landslides in Ormoc City, Kananga, Carigara, Jaro, and Burauen inflected by the magnitude-6.5 earthquake last July 6 should transfer to safer locations, he said.

Sibbaluca informed reporters that the findings of geologists who conducted the geo-hazard assessment discovered that aside from the landslides there are numerous cracks in the mountains.

He said the cracks may cause landslides should another earthquake hit the area. The cracks will also accumulate water, become saturated, and landslides may occur in a heavy rain, he said.

He said that he talked to Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez to resettle immediately the three eastern barangays heavily affected by earthquake, namely Gaas, Tongonan, and Lake Danao.

Mayor Gomez said that his office has already identified relocation sites for the affected barangays and it will cost for P70 million to purchase the resettlement areas for the 1,100 affected families.

Gomez also identified the other affected barangays and for relocation as Milagro, Cabintan, Cabaon-an, and Liberty.

Ormoc with a total area of 613.6 square kilometers is a first-class city of 110 barangays and population of 215,031 based on 2015 census.

It was learned that there are also four heavily affected barangays in Kananga and one in Carigara, both of this province whose residents are also advised to evacuate and settle in safer grounds.